Book reviews from the staff at the Ferguson Public Library! Check out what we're reading and what we think about it below.
This book stood out to me because it involved a lot of ancestry and fantasy. It’s like falling into a deep dream and dreaming 1,000 different dreams. As if you’re being put on another world.
This book is recommended for those who love fantasy books and are interested in time travel. The book is very descriptive with the story and it was interesting to hear about New England 300 years in the past.
Review written by Devon W.
Stamped is a non-fiction book that traces racism through the view of history. There’s many political, literary, and philosophical narratives that have been used to justify slavery, oppression, and genocide. The book goes back to the first racist person and slowly leans into the empowerment we all know about. It dives into religious beliefs within each race, type of racists, and well-known moments of racism. Being a book that talks so much about the one thing we avoid the most, this book is more entertaining and formal to the reader.
Jason Reynolds narrates the story in his own words that hooks a reader’s attention. Not only does he capture the slang that his readers talk and know most about, he’s teaching our racial time lapse in a more comedic manner that interests the reader just enough to want to see what’s next. As if we all hopped in a time machine and took a look at how racial pride has been such an issue over the years and reacted in the present time.
This book is recommended for anyone who wants to find out more about how this mess all started.
I recently read a book called “The Lightning Thief.” I’m very familiar with this book series. This story dives into Greek Mythology and introduced me to a lot of the Greek gods and goddesses. The story starts in upstate New York with Poseidon’s son “Percy Jackson” unaware of who his real father was. He is a 12 year old troublemaker that got kicked out of many schools in his past. He lives this miserable lifestyle with his mother being his only delight.
A time came where Percy’s mother took him on a trip to a beach. This was a chance to sit down and talk about his mental problems in and out of school, with plans to let him know his real father’s identity. Until an unfriendly 7 foot creature comes into play and takes his mother’s life. Percy manages to kill the creature and passes out in the process. He then wakes up at a place called Camp Half-Blood, a herd of Satyrs and unusual creatures from Mount Olympus. Zeus accuses Percy of stealing his master lightning bolts and it's up to him and his two companions, “Grover” and “Annabeth” to use the 10 days they’ve been given to return Zeus’s stolen property. In the process he learns who his father is with questions of his abandonment, and uses what he learns at camp to get back his mother.
This book was very adventurous and a great way to start learning about Greek mythology. It was the first advanced chapter book I read. Being a chapter book without any pictures and a blank theme, this would be the first book in that category you would actually enjoy. The author gets very detailed with his words. The book helps work your mind and has you re-imagining certain things from the book. This book is a great way to start diving into bigger and more detailed stories.
Review written by Devon W.
